To the Birds
That pilot certainly did a remarkable job putting that plane down gently in the Hudson River. Good old Sully should be congratulated for doing his job perfectly and sparing the lives of all those people. Remarkable, actually, and he has been humble since the landing, not looking for glory, just behaving like a solid professional. Makes you wonder about those guys who spike the football and do a dance after scoring - what would we have thought had Sully escaped the cockpit and did the Icky Shuffle?
Couple questions, though - a flock of geese can take down two engines? Can we put a barrier up to keep the geese from getting to the engines? Why didn't the Wright Brothers account for such a happenstance? Seems to me it should be correctable, but then again, I can't even get the hang of pulling my nail clippers out of my carry-on bag.
Then the human element - when the plane is dropping and the captain is saying 'brace for impact,' what goes through your mind?
Most everyone was praying. Certainly a solid option - if you've ever needed God - that's certainly the time to call on Him (or Her - though I seriously doubt that).
Other passengers were writing love notes to be discovered at the crash scene. That must be a harrowing moment for sure. I remember being on an airplane from California back to New York sandwiched between my brother and a Chinese woman who didn't speak nor understand a word of English. She motioned to us in the middle of the turbulence and my brother, Jim, mimicked a flying motion, a quick sudden drop, and a fiery crash. The woman's eyes were as big as silver dollars as my brother and I laughed our asses off.
On that flight, I asked Jim what he would do if he knew he only have five minutes left to live. He thought about it for a long moment and then said, "I'd probably do at least two of the stewardesses."
Thank God that woman didn't speak English.
In any regard, they are calling it the Miracle on the Hudson. I'm sure Old Sully isn't buying into the miracle talk - he did what he was trained to do - but deep down, even the most atheistic of all of the passengers, must admit that God had a hand in the safe landing.
I'm just waiting for PETA to file charges for the dead geese.
Couple questions, though - a flock of geese can take down two engines? Can we put a barrier up to keep the geese from getting to the engines? Why didn't the Wright Brothers account for such a happenstance? Seems to me it should be correctable, but then again, I can't even get the hang of pulling my nail clippers out of my carry-on bag.
Then the human element - when the plane is dropping and the captain is saying 'brace for impact,' what goes through your mind?
Most everyone was praying. Certainly a solid option - if you've ever needed God - that's certainly the time to call on Him (or Her - though I seriously doubt that).
Other passengers were writing love notes to be discovered at the crash scene. That must be a harrowing moment for sure. I remember being on an airplane from California back to New York sandwiched between my brother and a Chinese woman who didn't speak nor understand a word of English. She motioned to us in the middle of the turbulence and my brother, Jim, mimicked a flying motion, a quick sudden drop, and a fiery crash. The woman's eyes were as big as silver dollars as my brother and I laughed our asses off.
On that flight, I asked Jim what he would do if he knew he only have five minutes left to live. He thought about it for a long moment and then said, "I'd probably do at least two of the stewardesses."
Thank God that woman didn't speak English.
In any regard, they are calling it the Miracle on the Hudson. I'm sure Old Sully isn't buying into the miracle talk - he did what he was trained to do - but deep down, even the most atheistic of all of the passengers, must admit that God had a hand in the safe landing.
I'm just waiting for PETA to file charges for the dead geese.
Comments